I Learned Something Today: Final Fantasy VI

I’ve been known to go on many adventures. My wife always refers to the next adventure as my final one. However, for my latest adventure I had a trick up my sleeve. I would name it two different things to help in the confusion. Is this the third adventure or the sixth? She couldn’t keep it straight. That is until my seventh adventure. But I have a few years until I embark on that journey. Thanks to the lessons I learned in Final Fantasy VI, I’ll be able to continue on my quests for years to come, even if they are called Final.

The Lessons of Final Fantasy VI

Always be prepared

Wait your turn

Castles are sand submarines

Invite strangers along

Always be prepared

I learned something today. When embarking on a journey, you don’t want to be lackadaisical when it comes to preparation. You want to have the right gear, food, and health items with you at all times. You never know when a battle will be randomly encountered. As you enter new unexplored areas, new enemies might appear stronger than the ones you faced before. If you are ill-equipped to face these new enemies you will simply die. In real life, that means game over. No manner of resurrection potions or magical life spells will bring you back to fight another day. Only a special location where you last camped out will relaunch your journey. Be sure to camp fairly often. Bring a tent with you for an added bonus. You wouldn’t want to have to lose hours of adventuring time because of your forgetfulness. Thanks, Final Fantasy VI.

Wait your turn

Even though you might not want to, wait your turn.

I learned something today. Even in the face of imminent danger, it is good to be patient. Patience might not make a whole lot of sense when face to face with an enemy much larger and better drawn than yourself. But you have no choice. At least in the worlds known as Balance and Ruin. You attack, then the enemy attacks. It is the yin and yang of battle. Don’t be scared, the world has existed for many years based on this idea alone. I know you’ll want to be constantly attacking but it just isn’t possible. You’ll have to cool down between each attack. Be mindful to gauge your next move. It’s the only way to win the battle. Mastering this what I’ll call an, active time system ,will grant you many success on this final adventure. Hell, you might even save the world. Thanks, Final Fantasy VI.

Castles are Sand Submarines

I learned something today. I have always been fond of castles. I blame my father. He got me interested in King Arthur at a young age and the castles in that mythology have always been of huge interest to me. It wasn’t until I got a bit older that I learned a secret about castles that many people don’t know or will ever know. Castles have the ability to sink down into sand and travel underground for miles before popping up at another sandy location. MIND BLOWING. Granted, most castles these days aren’t built on sand as much as they are built out of sand. And sand castles aren’t stable enough to travel as submarines. I’m talking real stone and mortar castles. If you have ever seen the ruins of Castle Tintagel you’ll know what I’m talking about. That was a castle that traveled underground for many years before retiring on the edge of a cliff. Traveling underground is hard on a castle and now Tintagel sits in ruin. For the most part submarine castle technology has been lost and royalty moved into palaces instead. But palaces can’t do shit. Thanks, Final Fantasy VI.

Castle Tintagel

Invite strangers along

I learned something today. I was travelling in this huge prairie type land when I encountered a young human male who was exhibiting animal characteristics. Now I know many of you would have just given him something to eat and let him go on his merry way. That is not something that ever crossed my mind. Sure, I gave him food but only to gain his trust. I knew his knowledge of the surrounding area would be a huge help in my overall journey. I hope that this doesn’t make me sound like one of those creepy guys who pass out candy and ice cream to kids. I did it for the journey and the journey alone. I swear. He was a huge help and his fighting ability was off the charts. He even disappeared every once in a while to learn new animal attacks. You could call him whatever you wanted, but I called him friend. Thanks, Final Fantasy VI.

Conclusion

After reading this, my wife will definitely let me go on at least one more final adventure. She didn’t realize how many lessons one can take from such a journey. I hear Midgar is really nice this time of year. Maybe I’ll check that out soon. Thanks, video games.

I Learned Something Today – Who says that video games can’t teach you life skills? Sure they may get you put in prison or banished from society, but they are skills nonetheless. We take an over-the-top look at some of the potential applications of what video games have taught us.